Israel’s ground incursion of southern Lebanon has raised fears of an all-out war in the Middle East, forcing many countries to announce plans to evacuate their nationals from the country.
Tuesday’s missile attack on Israel by Iran, which counts Hezbollah as a major ally, has further raised the spectre of a wider war.
The Israeli military has ordered more evacuations in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, as its troops were engaged in battles with Hezbollah fighters in the country’s south.
Nearly a million people have been forced to flee their homes and more than 1,000 Lebanese have been killed since Israel escalated its attacks on the country last month.
Many foreign embassies are using their X accounts and other social media platforms to communicate guidelines and travel advisories for their respective citizens.
Here are the countries that have asked their citizens to leave Lebanon and other measures they have taken so far.
United States
In a recent X post, the US Embassy in Beirut communicated a Level 4 travel advisory – “Do not travel” – the highest that can be issued from the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular. It states: “This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks.”
The US in the first week of August had asked its citizens to use commercial flights to leave the country as Israel started to strike deep into Lebanon.
According to 2022 estimates, roughly 86,000 US citizens reside in Lebanon.
Australia
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese advised Australian citizens on Tuesday to leave Lebanon immediately.
“We repeat the call for Australians who are in Lebanon to come home. These are volatile circumstances and we want to make sure Australians are safe,” he said.
The Australian government is now offering financial assistance to some of its nationals.
An estimated 15,000 Australians reside in Lebanon.
Andrew Barnes, Australia’s ambassador to Lebanon, advised citizens in a recent post on X to register with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) crisis portal to make arrangements to evacuate from Lebanon.
United Kingdom
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has advised British nationals to leave Lebanon due to a “the situation in Lebanon is volatile and getting worse”.
In a recent video post on his X account, Lammy said the UK government is providing charted flights out of Lebanon.
“Your safety is my priority, and foreign office teams in London and Beirut have been working around the clock to provide support, including increasing the number of commercial flights and securing seats for you to leave,” he emphasised.
The British government said it will arrange and fund chartered flights departing from Beirut international airport.
However, UK citizens will be required to pay a fee of 350 pounds ($465) for each seat.
An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 UK nationals live in Lebanon.
Last week, the Ministry of Defence moved 700 soldiers to Cyprus in preparation for the evacuation of British nationals out of Lebanon.
At the time, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “It is important that we be really, really clear: now is the time to leave.”
France
Lebanon’s former colonial ruler, France, is also planning to evacuate its citizens. An estimated 20,000 French nationals live in Lebanon.
A French army spokesperson said on Tuesday it would send a helicopter carrier, set to reach the Eastern Mediterranean in the coming days, for a potential evacuation of its nationals.
The measure comes in light of Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot meeting United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in Beirut on Monday.
An 87-year-old French woman was killed in southern Lebanon following a bomb blast caused by an Israeli air strike on September 23.
The French government has issued warnings for its citizens to leave the country since early August.
Canada
Canada also intensified its efforts on Monday to evacuate its citizens from the country as the security situation in Lebanon continues to worsen.
“The security situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly dangerous and volatile. The airport remains open and commercial flights are still available,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly posted on her X account on Tuesday.
“We are now augmenting commercial capacity and have secured an additional 800 seats over the course of the next three days,” she added.
Between 40,000 and 75,000 Canadians reside in Lebanon, according to Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Germany
Germany has already started the evacuation process, with the removal of non-essential personnel, embassy workers’ families, and medically at-risk German citizens from Lebanon.
The German foreign and defence ministries jointly announced on Monday that they will also provide assistance to German nationals seeking to leave the country.
A spokesperson for the foreign ministry said there are 1,800 registered German citizens in Lebanon.
According to the Reuters news agency, 110 people were evacuated on Monday on a flight taking off from Beirut airport.
Italy
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Monday urged its citizens to leave Lebanon.
“At this time it is best to leave the country because the situation is really complicated, there are ongoing fighting. Therefore, for maximum security, it is best for Italian citizens to leave,” Tajani said.
“For a few weeks we have reinforced the presence of the Tuscania paratrooper carabinieri to protect our embassy,” he added.
Some 300 Italians are in Lebanon for work, while 3,000 are dual nationals, according to Tajani.
“We have always advised Italians working in Lebanon to leave as soon as possible. There are still flights from Beirut to the West, so we recommend they leave now.”
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